Forum

Last week I told you all about Last Pass a free encrypted password program to keep your passwords secure. This week I want to mention a couple of other applications that I've installed and work really well to keep your computer safe, secure, and running as fast as it should. The first is Secunia PSI 2.0 and the second is AVG LinkScanner.

A couple of years ago Secunia, a software company, came out with a utility called Personal Software Inspector, or PSI.  You could run this application and it would examine the applications you've installed, tell you whether they were up to date, and then give you the option of installing the current version of the software.  This was particularly important because applications like Flash are notorious for having security holes for hackers and identity thieves.  And, btw, it's a fallacy to think that just because you have a Mac that you don't have to protect yourself. The problem with PSI was that its' interface was confusing and it didn't always download what you asked it to.  I tried it for a while and dumped it. However, the idea was a good one.  Secunia fixed the problems and released a new version 2.0.  It is light years better than the original.  The "dashboard" is clear and concise.  It analyzes all your programs, tells you which ones need updating and then has a link to the update.  Necessary applications like Flash and Java will update automatically if you tell PSI to do so.  It also checks to see if your Windows updates are up to date.  I highly recommend this program.  

http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/

A few months ago, I was doing a Google search and an applet that had hijacked an ad on the Google search page, grabbed my computer and installed one of those malware programs that tells you, you have viruses, etc. and you need to buy their program to remove them.  It did this even though I have lots of protection i.e. virus software, Spybot S and D, and others.  I didn't have to click on the ad to get the malware.  AVG, who makes a free virus software came out with a pro-active scanner that scans web sites in advance, to keep you from web sites that are clean and haven't been hijacked.  It's called LinkScanner and, again, it is free. Some of you may have already installed similar applications, like Web of Trust, which warns you that the web site you're going to may have malware on them.  I use Web of Trust.  LinkScanner scans the web site, before you go there and if it finds something suspicious, prevents you from going there. I,also, highly recommend this program.